Supercritical Fluid Nanotechnology ─ Advances and Applications in Composites and Hybrid Nanomaterials

The environmental and climate program demands technological solutions in the chemical industry that incorporate prevention of pollution. Major advances are needed to reduce the use of organic solvents, such as methanol, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, and dichloromethane, which account for 27 percent of total toxics release inventory chemicals. The replacement of those solvents is a key point to enable the transition from classical synthesis to green chemistry and nanotechnology concepts, i.e., to sustainability. The first radical option to achieve this goal is to completely avoid the use of solvents, as occurs in mechanochemical processes. A wide-range synthesis prospect is given by identifying between known solvents those with less negative environmental impact. This book concerns the analysis of the advantages of using compressed CO2 to produce not only improved materials in a better way, but also new nanoproducts. Recovering and using CO2, otherwise released into the atmosphere, is a means of recycling emissions resulting from other users. The use of supercritical CO2 is a complex option from a conceptual point of view requiring enhanced technical preparation.

C. Domingo is leader of the "Supercritical fluids and functional materials" research team at the Materials Science Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), the Spanish national science agency. She has a PhD in chemistry, although she has also work in interdisciplinary science and engineering laboratories, as the ones in the TU-Delft (The Netherlands). Dra Domingo has focused its scientific objectives in the synthesis, characterization and development of micro and nanoparticulate systems and the preparation of composite materials, principally using routes sol-gel and supercritical fluid methods. This research has resulted in near 100 articles published in SCI journals, 75 percent of them related to the area of supercritical fluids, and the coordination and participation in several large European (Suprophar, SurfaceT) and national (CENIT SOST-CO2) projects.

P. Subra-Paternault is a senior scientist from the French national science agency (CNRS) leading the "Supercritical Fluids" research team at CBMN, University of Bordeaux. From an educational background in chemistry and a PhD in analytical chemistry, she has focused her scientific objectives in understanding processes assisted by supercritical fluids, such as extraction, sorption and crystallization, through phase equilibria and mass transfer applied to the preparation of particulate materials or suspensions. Dra. Subra-Paternault is author of 70 articles, all related to supercritical fluids and contributes as coordinator and participant to several european (Suprophar, SurfaceT) and french (ANR, Aquitaine) projects.